alternatehistory.com

9 October
As the run up to the elections in the American Nations intensifies, a bill is floated in the US Congress. It would mandate that the Ordnance Department keep on hand, at all times, not less than 500,000 rifles of a modern type along with the powder, accouterments and other materiel required to swiftly mobilize this number of troops into a full army.
This bill is torn to shreds in debate, with the sheet scale of the cost that the Federal government would incur being stressed. Nevertheless, the idea of keeping rifles on hand survives - it is made very clear that one of the largest single problems the Union has had in the late war is want of guns to arm their recruits.

11 October
The Dunderberg is laid down in New York, along with a number of other ironclads. It has taken some time to sort out the supply chain after the chaos caused by the 20-ironclad navy, the harbour destruction of the 20-ironclad navy and the United States ironclads hoovering up much of the material ordered for the 20-ironclad navy, but Webb feels that the Dunderberg - while a long term prospect, with an estimated construction time of fifteen months - will prove to be a sound investment. *

12 October
The Admiralty tenders orders for a dozen 'anti mine gunvessels', which are to be small ships of the gunboat or gunvessel type fitted with light guns (40-lber Armstrongs are the initial assumption) and powerful engines, as well as mine clearing grapnels and serrated chains to be attached directly to the hull (these latter to be used to cut the ropes or detonation wires of tethered mines). They are also provided with excess anchors for a similar task - dragging the anchors along the bottom to sever control cables - and the facility to operate Standard Diving Dress.
All these vessels are to be tightly compartmentalized in case of mine detonation.
As is the custom at this time, the orders are put out in ones and twos to multiple different builders - the best will then be used as a basis for any further improvements.


14 October
A demonstration in New York against the war and the economic disruption it is causing turns somewhat violent, with several shops burned and looting taking place.
Wood calls for calm, though his rhetoric in so doing is perhaps concerning - he implores the Federal government to bring an end to the war and restore good governance, while also hinting that a government which cares more for scoring political points than keeping its citizens fed and clothed is one which bears a resemblance to the ministry of Lord North.
After hearing this, the commander of the Narrows garrison quickly orders his men recalled from furlough so he can be ready to deal with potential "eventualities".

15 October
Ferdinand Maximilian formally accepts the offer of the Mexican imperial crown. (Mexico has an imperial crown due to complicated reasons, mostly related to 'it's bigger than mainland Spain, look at it'.) He will wrap up his affairs in Austria and then travel to Mexico to be crowned.
Also on this date, Superb conducts firing trials. The enormous mortar making up her primary armament proves to be as unwieldy as expected, but the sheer impact of the shells on the target (an old Martello tower) means the ship is considered a success. (Though replacement mortar components are considered essential - the likelihood at the moment is that Great Eastern will carry them like she does everything else.)


17 October
A report from the commander of the Narrows garrison reaches Washington, and causes a stir.
The commander explains that his troops had been largely furloughed, retaining forty percent of his strength at the forts to man them, and that he recalled the men in case of "eventualities". However, those men who were recalled have largely simply not returned - and those who do complain of lack of pay. (At home they can at least work either on their jobs or on their farms, which is productive work - military pay is in greenbacks, which at this point are becoming less and less believable as actual currency.)
Based on this (small) sample, the Ordnance department calculates that in the event of a resumption of war, the Union army would have fewer men in toto than they had pre-ceasefire facing the Confederacy alone.
This stark report means the pressure to resolve the war with a peace deal is intensified.

18 October
Confederate agents representing the State of Virginia contract for twenty Krupp guns, as an initial purchase to potentially be expanded later. The German industrialist is happy to sell - he wants as much business as possible, and his principal competitor (Armstrong) has been doing well from the American War.

21 October
The Snider-Enfield is demonstrated at Hythe. This weapon, a conversion of the Enfield rifle musket, proves to be something of a wonder weapon - it fires faster than the Enfield and retains all of its good qualities, including the great accuracy. Indeed, with the stiff paper cartridges it inserts complete instead of the normal muzzle-loading method, it is capable of a higher muzzle velocity and hence a longer range for the same accuracy or greater accuracy at the same range.
The only concern that remains in the minds of the Committee on Rifles is whether it will be possible to manufacture the cartridges in quantity and whether they will survive rough handling (an Enfield cartridge is just as usable if it is squashed, this is not true of the Snider cartridges), though they are also shown the metallic prototype cartridges which are being considered as an alternative. These are much harder to manufacture, but are also nearly immune to not only squashing but also damp.


22 October

Reports in Russia that the conscription measures of 1862 (routine) have been significantly underproducing, especially in the Polish area.
This does not seem to be particularly surprising as the emancipation of the serfs has been causing nationwide disruption to the normal way of things.

24 October
King Frederick inspects the Landwehr of the current class - a small cohort, the first attempt at implementing the new system on a regional basis and part of a trial to see how much training time is ideal. They are enthusiastic - perhaps overly so - and demonstrate with a mock battle, one in which perhaps a few too many rifle butts are made use of.
Nevertheless, they handle their needleguns well (a significant fraction of the training time is rifle practice) and a few British instructors are explaining the wonders of Hythe - though they are a bit snooty about the use of breech loading weapons!

25 October
The report on possible sites for the US capital in the event of a change of location is delivered to Congress. Broadly, the plans fall into two categories - one being that the new capital should be a new Federal District, much as the original District of Columbia was, an area without any major existing population center and then developed from there. (Several sites are suggested.)
The other option is the use of an existing large city - Boston, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Columbus are all mentioned, with detailed examination on their vulnerabilities and advantages. One key point of interest is that Chicago is actually quite defensible despite being on the Great Lakes - the Straits of Mackinac to Lake Huron could be sealed by fortifications, being five miles wide and with nearby islands to place batteries on - though the location is quite a long way from the current center of population of the US.




* OTL this ship was LD by 3 October 1862, specified to take fifteen months, was launched 33 months later and required extensive work in France to make her usable.